TTT: Favorite short books/novellas read in the past year

Top Ten Tuesday Freebie: Favorite Short Books or Novellas I've Read this Past Year

I went on a "novella" jag this past year, reading more in one year, over twenty, than in the past ten years put together. The first part of my list is a ranking of those short books. The second half is a list of novella's I've recently placed on my TBR. I'd like your help selecting which of them I should read next.

Favorite short books/novellas read in the past year:

1. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler -- at 169 pages this novella hits all the right notes to make it a near-perfect read. (5 stars. Read May 25, 2025.)
2. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf -- Sometimes it is so obvious why a book becomes a classic. This is one of those books -- a true classic. Nonfiction, not a novella, just a short book. 112 pages. (5 stars. Read Nov. 27, 2024.)
3. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King -- This novella first showed up as a short story in a collection by King named Different Seasons. Later, after its popularity as a movie, it was published as a novella by itself. 128 pages. (5 stars. Read, Nov. 21, 2014.)
4. Foster by Claire Keegan -- a short story really. A beautiful story about love and acceptance. 128 pages. (5 stars. Read Oct. 31, 2024.)
5. Orbital by Samantha Harvey -- Technically not a novella. It's a little long at 207 pages, but it was selected for "2024 Novellas in November Group Book" so I'm adding it here. It's a beautiful homage to Mother Earth. (4.5 stars. Read Nov. 11, 2024.)
6. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens -- A tale I'm so familiar with but never read. It was an enjoyable experience. 160 pages. (4 stars. Read October 1, 2024.)
7. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin -- Another classic. This one is a very sad tale of happiness stubbed out by societal biases against LGBTQIA+ love. 169 pages. (4 stars. Read Oct. 28, 2024.)
8. Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo -- This novel about a haunted village is thought to be the novel which launched the magical realism genre of Latin American literature. Very odd, but also fascinating. 139 pages. (4 stars. Read Nov. 24, 2024.)
9. 
   Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan -- I just realized I read this book last year, too, but forgot to label it as a novella so I missed it on my initial sweep. This is another powerful short book about taking care of people in need. 2021. (4.5 stars. Read April 12, 2024.)

Short books / Novellas I'm considering. Give me feedback so I can prioritize my TBR.

• The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Classic set in Africa. 1899. 188 pages.
• Elena Knows by Claudia Pineiro. Translated from Spanish. Crime fiction which exposes morality lessons. 2007. 143 pages.
• The Vegetarian by Han Kang, Translated from Korean. A chain of events is set in motion by the act of no longer eating meat by one partner in a marriage. 2007. 188 pages.
• The Tomb Guardians by Paul Griffiths. How we discuss both art and literature. 2021. 121 pages.
• I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. Translated from French. Women live underground together for years on end. 1995. 184 pages.

Ack! I just reread the options I've given myself and all of them sound like big bummers. Forget those five books, instead answer this question -- What is one of your favorite novellas and why? Thanks for the help!

-Anne